First competition decision for FCA

Following a three-and-a-half-year long investigation, the Financial Conduct Authority has issued its firs...

Following a three-and-a-half-year long investigation, the Financial Conduct Authority has issued its first decision under competition law against three asset management companies for IPO price collusion.

In a landmark decision last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that three asset management companies – Hargreave Hale, Newton Investment Management and River & Mercantile Asset Management (RAMAM)– had breached competition law, which is the first case the agency has issued using its competition law powers, which it has had for four years.

In 2017, the FCA revealed its statement of objections to the three asset management firms, and a fourth Artemis Investment Management, all of which the agency believed broke competition law.

A German court has ruled that the country’s participation in the Unified Patent Court is unconstitutional. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the scheme, it leaves the future of the UPC in a precarious position.